PrivTracker allows to share torrent files just with your friends, nobody else. Unlike public trackers, it shares peers only within a group which is using the same Announce URL. It really works like a private tracker, but can be generated with one click of a button.

This could be actually useful for sending large files, not just Linux ISOs. The code is available on GitHub, so could be used as a self-hosted service as well.

If your passion or livelihood depends on a set of tools or capabilities, don’t rent those tools from someone who can deny you access or claim your output at any time. Own your tools. Be a digital homesteader.

I looked into how Tailscale works behind the scenes, but I’m still not sure I need a 3rd-party tool to create a virtual network for my devices. There are a couple of cool uses of a network like this, like syncing DEVONthink and OmniFocus over WebDAV using my Mac mini. Still, I also have an Apple Watch, which doesn’t seem to work with Tailscale, so I can’t sync OmniFocus with my Mac mini there like I originally planned.

Initially, I was looking for something that could give me access to my Mac mini outside of my network to get to my file archive stored on my external drives connected to my Mac mini. But giving it a second thought, there is a good reason we have the distinction between Cold Storage and Active Storage.

For me, Active Storage is iCloud Drive, which is synced to all my devices. Cold Storage is not something that I should have access to all the time (not to mention ransomware and other dangers). So, from a security point of view, it’s a good thing that I have a local Mac server and a remote Linux server used for different things. Each of them requires a different level of security, and Tailscale merges them all into one network, which I’m not sure I’m comfortable with.

I’m thinking about shelving this whole idea of reaching my Mac mini server outside of my network and making a distinction between private networks and public networks. A public network means it should be available anywhere, but it should be end-to-end encrypted. This is what DEVONthink and OmniFocus do: each uses my WebDAV server running on my public server as a syncing backend, but these apps store data encrypted.

On the other hand, my private network should be guarded, and data stored there should have a good 3–2–1 backup plan instead.

So, instead of using the network as a transport layer to access my file archive, I’m thinking about using an external drive to bring a copy of my archive with me when I’m away.

Related

• Implementation plan

I’m playing around with Tailscale, but I’m not sure about the privacy aspect of being on a VPN all the time. I want to sync DEVONthink and OmniFocus using a WebDAV server on my Mac mini, but running Tailscale 24/7 raises some questions.

1. Is it really end-to-end encrypted?
2. Does all traffic go through the VPN?
3. What about network issues when using a VPN? I’ve seen some connection drops in the OmniFocus sync logs when I used my Mac mini as a sync server.

I love the idea of having my private network of devices available everywhere. But I don’t trust random companies with my data, so I want to do my research before I start to use Tailscale with all my devices.

I’ve had a Mac running as a server in my house for more than 20 years now, and I have zero regrets. As I detailed five years ago, the specific uses for my always-on Mac have changed numerous times over the decades, but the various Macs that have served the purpose have always made themselves useful.

I just assembled this temporary home server “rack” with my 2018 MacBook Air on top.

It does the following things:

• General file sharing and project archival
• Backups my iCloud Drive and Photos to a Time Capsule
• Runs Time Machine server for my M1 MacBook Pro
• Tests Rails code against Intel via a local GitHub runner instance
• Processes files via DEVONthink smart rules
• Schedules some of my RSS feeds which are published via Feeder
• Archives my websites using rsync
• Filters my email via Mail rules
• Keeps my Reeder queue up-to-date
• Content caching
• Local device backups for my iPad Pro and iPhone
• Media server based on the Apple TV app and Home Sharing
  • I don’t care about Plex.
• Torrent server to acquire the latest Linux ISOs
• Connects my DYMO labeler, because it caused kernel panics on my M1 MacBook Pro

I plan to get a proper Mac mini after we moved into our new house, but for now, this is more than sufficient.